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Observations from outside of social media….

My little break from social media is almost over. On Tuesday, I can get back on Facebook and Twitter, and I have been pondering on the roll it had and has in my life. All I know for certain is that I shouldn’t let it become the thing I need to fast from, if that makes sense.

It makes me angry at myself for even letting take any priority in my life, but unfortunately society doesn’t make it easy. It wasn’t enough for all the info in the world to be interconnected, but we had to create ways to be social on the internet too. I am not saying it’s all bad, but sometimes it’s the only “social” thing people do. We stay at home, on our computers “interacting” with people. As an introvert, I admit I think I have an easier time with socializing on the computer (or text for that matter lol), but I also recognize it’s not healthy either.

It seems that true social situations and gatherings are becoming less and less frequent. We claim we don’t have time to do this or that yet we can spend hours on social media and other stuff that isolates us from the rest of the world. Honestly, it hurts a lot less to hide behind a screen to talk to people. We can feel more freedom to either be who we truly are or pretend to be someone we are not.

We wonder why subsequent generations seem to deteriorate and wonder why people seem to have no interpersonal skills. Take a look at what our children are observing. Are they seeing us interact with others in real life situations, are they seeing social cues and how to react to them? Are we telling them to go on because we have to finish something important….you know like responding to a FB post or writing a blog post (OUCH!).

When I chose to take a break from social media, it was a tough one. I knew it would mean a sort of isolation from my family, friends, and rest of the world. I made sure I posted a couple of times that I was taking this break, knowing that the likelihood of hearing from most people would be low. I have had a couple of friends text me, but other than that the only time I recall talking to others is at work and at church. Now for the most part I can deal with that, but there were days where I felt a little lonely or “out of the loop”. It was those days that impressed upon me that I should be seeking to fulfill that part of me with God and reach out more to others outside of the internet.

I want my kids to see how things are supposed to be done from me, and not what the media tells them. I want to have more meaningful relationships with other people, deeper than what they had for dinner or the long line they are standing in. I want to be able to see others as Jesus sees them…and that can be hard to do through the computer screen.

Like I said, it’s not all bad. We just need to be more aware of what is going on around us. We need to be able to be plugged into real life enough to see others…that way we can share life with them too. Just doing that can change our hearts and in turn change so many others.